For the most part, Vicki Gunvalsonstayed out of the drama during the last episode of Real Housewives of Orange County… and that’s why the episode was pretty boring. Love her or hate her, Vicki-centered conflict is (almost) always entertaining.
Last night’s Real Housewives Of Orange County was a lesson in marital “How Don’ts.” An exhibit of the worst kinds of marriages and men: The exes of Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador, the Davids, the Simons, and now the Shane’s… Oh my! Emily Simpson may have joined this show thinking her quirkily unconventional G-Chat love story was a modern day romance of surrogacy and women who earn equally to men, but one wrong outburst and the house of Hallmark cards came crumbling down on national TV. Shane should’ve known better than to join this show – after all, he hates loud women.
While some of us (ahem, David) think Shannon is too much to handle, she’s just getting started! Which means launching a low-fat food business on QVC so we can all continue on the “weight journey” with her. If eating like Shannon gives you Shannon’s life, I’ll stick to eating cookies!
The only thing that assaulted my senses more than Gina Kirschenheiter’svoice on this week‘s Real Housewives of Orange County was Shannon Beador’s poker suit. However, what truly grated on my last nerve was newbie Emily Simpson’s husband Shane harping about how loud Gina was. His wife threw a poker party that included shots of Fireball as part of the place setting which was being filmed for a reality show. Did he expect demure whispers? He surely knew what his wife was signing up for when she joined the cast. Annoying.
On the other hand, should Emily even be a part of this cast? From my perspective she seems far too intelligent and normal to roll with this crew. Even her take on Gina’s foul mouth and Shane’s whining is measured, mature, and gracious. Her legal background is going to serve her well on RHOC—well, it likely won’t help her deal with the other orange wielding wackadoos, but it will be beneficial to viewers who want to read a well-written blog that isn’t fraught with typos and horrible grammar.
I realize that the Real Housewives of Orange County started it all, and we’ve gotten some fabulously dramtastic additional members of the franchise in its wake. However, who determines when a Bravo staple has jumped the shark? I’m not saying RHOC needs to be retired. Shannon Beador hot tubbing in Spanx was television gold. Vicki Gunvalson’s inability to form a sincere apology is always mildly entertaining. Even Kelly Dodd and Tamra Judge have been easy(ish) to watch this season (did I really just type that?). That said, I can’t get over the newbies. When will Andy Cohen learn? No extra is going to infiltrate this dysfunctional foursome.
It’s a bit of a shame. I’m sure Emily Simpson and Gina Kirschenheiter are lovely people, but they are nothing more than filler. Even if they were the most interesting women in the world, no one would be interested in their storyline. The foursome runs off anyone in its path, but I have to hand it to Gina. At least she’s attempting so somewhat stir the pot with her screeching voice and her constant brashness in the name of authenticity. I actually really like her, but she won’t last. Maybe she’ll be picked up by another member of the franchise that has an easier orientation than subjecting newbies to the Kook of Coto.
We also got a big dose of the new girls last night. While Emily Simpson seems sweet, almost too normal, that GinaCantevenbebotherwithwhatsherlastname is, well, to be frank, annoying as f–k! Since we know Gina is a New Yawker who tells it like it is and doesn’t hold back or hang around “pusses,” I think she’d be fine with my assessment of her personality.
Doubly annoying is Gina’sconstant comparison of New York vs. OC. As if everyone in Orange County is a backstabbing, judgmental, harlot (there are) out to destroy her tender, open-heart (they are), but girl… please – we have all seen Real Housewives Of New York! We know Ramona Singer, and the likes of her are as judgmental as they come. We also know that Gina wouldn’t last one cocktail in that cesspool of rabid cougars.
On dinner at the farmhouse, Vicki says she’s shocked that Real Housewives of Orange County newbie Gina Kirschenheiter has any opinion at all on her situation with Kelly Dodd. “I had just met Gina for the first time that night, and for her to have ANY opinion on my friendship with Michael, my friend Teri (who he briefly dated), and us going on a few dates with them is shocking. Gina has no idea that when Kelly divorced Michael, Steve and I chose to remain friends with him too. As far as we could tell, they just grew apart and were choosing to be cordial to one another, which made it easy on us, because to us, being friends with both of them was the right thing. Before Gina started “giving her opinion” at the dinner table, she should have heard both sides, which she hadn’t. It’s obvious Kelly had filled her in on “her side” of the Michael story, which is why Gina acted the way she did. I never asked for Gina’s opinion on this personal matter with Kelly and Michael, and quite frankly I don’t care what she thinks. She was very loud yelling across the table, and I think completely out of line.”
After years of very public feuding, Brandi Glanville, Eddie Cibrian, and LeAnn Rimesall united as a family to support Brandi and Eddie’s son when he graduated from culinary school. This trio has come a long way from calling each other out in interviews and social media.
It’s always unexpected to see those three in one photo. Another surprising photo that popped up on Instagram was Jill Zarin hanging out with 50 Cent. She even captioned it with “Always a great time with @50cent.” Always? Have Jill and 50 been in the same room multiple times? What’s the story there? Did he buy a rug from Zarin Fabrics? I can’t help being so curious about the behind-the-scenes backstory on this photo.
Of course Vicki Gunvalson and Kelly Dodd’sfeud dominated the group gathering, but that didn’t stop Gina from sharing her opinion. She is making a name for herself on this show and she’s just saying what everyone else is thinking. Of course Vicki and Shannon Beador did not like the new girl sharing her thoughts she just met them, but she wasn’t saying anything that (most of) the viewers disagreed with. Vicki definitely broke girl code when she set up Kelly’s ex-husband with a friend and secretly went on double dates with them. There is no doubt about that.
